Eurovision Song Contest 2016
The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 is the 61st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It will take place in the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, following Sweden's victory at the 2015 contest in Vienna with the song "Heroes", performed by Måns Zelmerlöw. This will be the third time the contest has taken place in Stockholm, after 1975 and 2000, the latter also being held at the Globe. The contest will consist of two semi-finals on 10 and 12 May and the final on 14 May 2016. The three live shows will be hosted by Zelmerlöw and Petra Mede. Forty-two countries will participate. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia and Ukraine will return after absences from recent contests, while Australia will also return after debuting as a special guest in 2015. Portugal has withdrawn after constant bad results since it entered the contest, decades ago, while Romania had originally planned to participate, but were forcefully withdrawn due to repeated non-payment of debts to the EBU. The contest will also be the first to implement a new voting system since 1975, with each country now awarding two sets of points: one from their professional jury and another from televoting. The winner of the contest was Ukraine with the song "1944", performed by Jamala. This was Ukraine's second win and its first since 2004. This was the first time since the introduction of professional jury voting in 2009 that the overall winner won neither the jury vote, which was won by Australia, nor the televote, which was won by Russia, with Ukraine placing second in both. It was also the first song with lyrics in Crimean Tatar to win or enter the contest.The winner of the contest was Ukraine with the song "1944", performed by Jamala. This was Ukraine's second win and its first since 2004. This was the first time since the introduction of professional jury voting in 2009 that the overall winner won neither the jury vote, which was won by Australia, nor the televote, which was won by Russia, with Ukraine placing second in both. It was also the first song with lyrics in Crimean Tatar to win or enter the contest. ''Eurovision: The Party'' The EBU announced on 14 March 2016 that the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm would host a live event running alongside the final of the contest on 14 May. Eurovision The Party, hosted by Swedish Eurovision Song Contest 2014 entrant, Sanna Nielsen, will allow fans to watch the final on a big screen and will feature backstage material from the Ericsson Globe such as Nielsen conducting exclusive interviews and appearing with hosts Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw. The results of the Swedish jury vote will also be announced live from the event by Gina Dirawi. A pre-party and after-party will also be held and will feature performances from former contest winners Carola and Loreen as well as Danny Saucedo, Panetoz and DJ Tim Henri. Executive Producer of the contest Johan Bernhagen has stated that the event complements existing events being held at the Eurovision Village and the EuroClub, and it is hoped that Eurovision The Party will become an annual event in the host city of the contest. Representatives Broadcast Non-participating countries: Sign language broadcast: The Swedish host broadcaster SVT will offer international sign language broadcasts of the two semi-finals and final for the hearing impaired, which will be produced by Julia Kankkonne. The performances of the competing entries and the dialogue of the hosts will be interpreted by nine performers: *Georg Marsh (Austria) *Ebru Bilen Basaran (Denmark) *Markus Aro (Finland) *Rafael-Evitan Grombelka (Germany) *Kolbrun Völkudottir (Iceland) *Laura Levita Valyte (Lithuania) *Pavel Rodionov (Russia) *Amina Ouahid (Sweden) *Tommy Rangsjö (Sweden) *Xuejia Rennie Zacsko (Sweden) *Laith Fathulla (Sweden) The broadcasts will be streamed online concurrently with the live broadcasts of the three shows. The following broadcasters will also televise the broadcasts: Category:Special Events Category:Talent Shows Category:Eurovision Song Contest